Connector system for securing an end portion of a steel structural member to a vertical cast concrete member

ABSTRACT

A steel structural member such as a joist or beam is secured to a vertical cast concrete member or wall by a connector system including a fabricated steel receiver embedded within the wall. Embedded anchors are attached to the receiver which has front wall portions flush with the concrete wall and define a front opening. A support bracket has a horizontal plate attached to the beam and a vertical plate which fits through the front opening within the receiver. The bracket is attached to the beam which is then elevated, and the vertical plate is inserted through the opening into the receiver. The beam and vertical plate are then shifted until opposite edge portions of the vertical plate are blocked by the front wall portions of the receiver. In the illustrated embodiment, the front opening and vertical plate are generally triangular, and the support bracket has a welded reinforcing gusset.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the construction of a building or other structure, it is common toconstruct cast reinforced concrete walls by using tilt-up precast wallpanels or panels precast at a remote plant or by casting concrete wallsin place. After the vertical concrete walls are formed, it is common toconnect structural steel members such as steel beams or steel trussjoists to the concrete walls. Usually steel angle brackets are attachedto the walls, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,519, No.6,298,630 and No. 6,739,099. Other forms of embedded connectors aredisclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,438, No. 5,548,939 andNo. 6,494,639. In the '639 Patent, a vertical plate is secured to aconcrete wall surface by headed concrete anchors and defines keyholeslots for receiving headed studs or pins which project from an anglebracket.

The angle bracket is used to support an end portion of a beam and isalso used to attach a wall panel to a concrete floor having an embeddedplate with headed concrete anchors as shown in the patent. The use ofthe connectors disclosed in the above patents for securing an endportion of a beam or joist to a vertical concrete wall usually requiresthat a worker be located at the elevated site of the connector to attachthe end portion of the beam to the angle bracket or to connect the anglebracket to a plate secured to the wall. This requires the worker toclimb a ladder extending to the wall connector or to a scaffold adjacentthe wall or use a hydraulic lift, all of which requires additional timeand expense for connecting a beam or joist to a wall and sometimesplaces the worker in an unsafe situation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an improved connector system forconnecting an end portion of a structural steel member, such as a steelbeam or truss joist, to a vertical structural concrete member, such as areinforced concrete column or wall, during the erection of a building orother structure. In general, the connector system of the inventionincludes a fabricated steel receiver which is embedded in the concretecolumn or wall, and concrete anchors project from the receiver into theconcrete. The receiver has front wall portions defining an opening andalso defines a cavity behind the front wall portions. A support bracketincludes a horizontal plate which is attached to an end portion of thestructural steel member while the steel member is located at groundlevel. The support bracket also includes a vertical plate which isadapted to be inserted through the opening within the receiver and intothe cavity after the structural member is elevated. The end portion ofthe structural member and the bracket are then lowered slightly untilopposite edge portions of the vertical plate of the support bracketshift within the cavity to a position behind the opposing front wallportions of the receiver.

In the illustrated embodiment, the front opening within the receiver andthe vertical plate of the support bracket are generally triangular, andthe horizontal plate of the support bracket has notches or recessesadjacent the vertical plate for receiving the front wall portions of thereceiver. The connector system provides a number of advantages such aseliminating field welding during erection, avoiding the need for aworker to climb a ladder or use a hydraulic lift to a position adjacentthe connector system, significantly reduces the time and cost for makinga connection, provides a safe means for making a connection andsimplifies the inspection and/or testing of the connection at theelevated site during erection.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector system including a receiverand a bracket constructed in accordance with the invention and showing afragmentary perspective view of a conventional steel structural memberbeam to be supported by the bracket;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the receiver and bracket shown in FIG.1 with the receiver embedded in a vertical concrete wall and with thesupport bracket in an insert position;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2 and showing the supportbracket in a locked position; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section taken generally on the line 4-4 of FIG.3 and showing the beam and attached support bracket in their lockedposition with the receiver.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a connector system 10 constructed in accordancewith the invention includes a fabricated metal or steel receiver 12 anda T-shape support bracket 14. The bracket 14 is adapted to receive andsupport an end portion of an elongated structural steel memberillustrated in the form of a steel H-beam 16. However, the structuralsteel member may also be a steel truss joist or any other member used toconstruct a building or similar structure. As shown, the H-beam 16 hasan upper flange portion 18 and a lower flange portion 19 integrallyconnected by a vertical web portion 21. As used herein, it is to beunderstood that the term beam includes a steel truss joist or any otherstructural member.

The fabricated steel receiver 12 is illustrated in the form of a box andincludes opposing flat front wall portions 24 which defines a generallytriangular opening 25 and is rigidly connected to a flat rear wallportion 26 by a top wall portion 28, a bottom wall portion 31 andopposite end wall portions 33. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear wall portion26, the top wall portion 28 and the bottom wall portion 31 may be formedfrom a one-piece flat steel plate and welded to the front wall portions24 and the end wall portions 33. All of the wall portions cooperate todefine a chamber or cavity 35 behind the opening 25 and the front wallportions 24. A plurality of at least two headed concrete anchor studs 38are welded to the inner or rear wall 26 for anchoring the receiver 12 inprecast concrete or cast-in-place concrete, as described later. Whilethe enclosed box-like receiver 12 prevents concrete from entering thechamber or cavity 35 during the casting of the concrete, some of thewalls or part of the walls 26, 28, 31 and 33 may be reduced or omitted,and the anchors 38 welded to the front wall portions 24 or a portion ofthe rear wall 26, and a removable plastic foam block or pad may betemporarily used to define the cavity 35 behind the front wall portions24 during casting of the concrete.

The support bracket 14 of the connector system 10 includes a horizontalsupport plate 42 and a vertical attachment plate 44 which are rigidlyconnected by a vertical gusset plate 46 and welds 48. While thehorizontal plate 42 and the vertical plate 44 may be formed from asingle plate or a single steel shape such as a T-shape, it is preferredthat the horizontal plate 42 be welded to the vertical plate 44 belowthe top edge of the vertical plate for load distribution. As shown inFIG. 1, the horizontal plate 42 has opposite recesses 52 adjacent thevertical plate 44 and also horizontally spaced elongated slots 54 whichextend parallel to the vertical plate 44. As also shown in FIGS. 1 & 2,the vertical plate 44 has a trapezoidal or generally triangularconfiguration which corresponds with the generally triangular opening 25defined by the opposing front wall portions 24 of the receiver 12, butslightly smaller to provide clearance. FIGS. 1 & 2 also show a pair ofangle mounting brackets 56 which are welded to the vertical end walls 33of the receiver 12 and are used for attaching the receiver to concreteforms so that the front wall portions 24 of the receiver 12 are flushwith the concrete surface after the forms are removed.

In use of the connector system 10, an end portion of the structuralsteel member or beam 16 is provided with a pair of holes 58 (FIG. 1)within the bottom flange 19, and the holes 58 align with the slots 54 inthe horizontal plate 42 of the bracket 14. While the beam 16 is locatedclose to or supported by the ground or floor surface for a building, thebracket 14 is attached to the beam 16 by a pair of bolts 62 (FIG. 4)which extend through the holes 58 in the bottom flange 19 of the beamand the slots 54 within horizontal plate 42 of the bracket 14. The slots54 provide for horizontal or lateral adjustment between the beam 16 andbracket 14.

After the receiver 12 is embedded in a cast concrete member or wall 70,which is commonly reinforced by one or more mats of crossing verticaland horizontal concrete reinforcing bars or rebars 72 (FIG. 4), thefront surfaces of the front wall portions 24 of the receiver 12 areflush with the inner vertical surface 74 of the wall 70. As mentionedabove, the receiver 12 may be attached to forms located at a remoteprecast concrete plant or may be attached to the forms for castingconcrete walls or columns in place at the building site. The receiver 12may also be positioned within the forms for precast tilt-up wall panelsby supporting the receiver 12 above the horizontal floor used forcasting the tilt-up panels and by connecting the receiver to an edgeform for the panels.

After the support bracket 14 is attached to the end portion of astructural steel member or beam 16, the beam is elevated, for example,by a crane until the vertical plate 44 is aligned with the opening 25defined by the opposing front wall portions 24 of the receiver 12. Thebeam 16 is then shifted longitudinally and horizontally until thevertical plate 44 enters the cavity 35 after which the beam is loweredslightly by the crane until the bottom surfaces of the vertical plate 44and the gusset 46 rest upon the bottom wall portion 31 of the receiver.In this position of the bracket 14, the opposite inclined edge portionsof the vertical plate 44 are located behind or in back of thecorresponding inclined opposing front wall portions 24 of the receiver12, as shown in FIG. 3. In this locked position, the bracket 14 and beam16 are positively secured to the cast concrete member or wall 70 withthe end surface of the beam 16 adjacent the inner vertical surface 74 ofthe wall 70 as shown in FIG. 4. The opposite end portion of the beam 16is then secured to its supporting steel structure in a conventionalmanner.

From the drawings and the above description, it is apparent that aconnector system constructed in accordance with the invention providesdesirable features and advantages. As one advantage, the connectorsystem 10 does not require any welding during erection of the building,and the welding required to construct the receiver 12 and the supportbracket 14 may be efficiently performed, inspected and tested at afabricating and welding plant, thereby eliminating the requirement forinspecting and testing connector welds during erection at the buildingsite. The connector system also avoids the need for a worker to climb aladder or be elevated to the receiver 12 on a vertical wall, thusproviding for a faster, less expensive and safer means for connecting anend portion of a structural steel member to a concrete member such as aconcrete wall or column. In addition, the generally triangular opening25 defined by the front wall portions 24 of the receiver 12 and thegenerally triangular vertical plate 44 of the bracket 14 with theclearance therebetween, provide for an easy to use and quick connectionof a beam to a wall and a positive, high strength and reliableconnection after the beam and support bracket 14 are shifted downwardlywith the opposite edge portions of the vertical plate 44 behind theopposing front vertical wall portions 24 of the receiver 12, as shown inFIG. 3.

While the form of connector system herein described constitutes apreferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to this precise form of the invention, and thatchanges made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A connector system for securing an end portion of a steel structuralsupport member to a vertical cast concrete wall member, said connectorsystem comprising a metal receiver embedded in said concrete wall memberand connected to at least one anchor member embedded in said wallmember, said receiver including opposing vertical front wall portionspositioned substantially flush with a vertical surface of said concretewall member, said opposing vertical front wall portions defining agenerally triangular V-shape opening between said front wall portions, ametal support bracket including a vertical generally triangular platerigidly connected to a support plate rigidly connected to said endportion of said structural support member, said vertical triangularplate being smaller than said V-shape opening and adapted to be insertedhorizontally through said opening into a cavity in back of said frontwall portions, said generally triangular V-shape opening and said cavityproviding for shifting said vertical triangular plate of said supportbracket downwardly within said cavity after said vertical triangularplate is inserted horizontally into said cavity, and said opposingvertical front wall portions of said receiver overlap and blockelongated opposite edge portions of said vertical triangular plate ofsaid support bracket in a locked position after said vertical triangularplate is shifted downwardly within said cavity.
 2. A connector system asdefined in claim 1 wherein said support plate of said support bracket ishorizontal and has horizontally spaced recesses adjacent said verticaltriangular plate, and said recesses receive said vertical front wallportions of said receiver when said support bracket shifts downwardly tosaid locked position.
 3. A connector system as defined in claim 2wherein said horizontal support plate of said support bracket is weldedto said vertical triangular plate of said support bracket, and avertical metal reinforcing gusset plate is welded to said horizontalsupport plate and to said vertical triangular plate.
 4. A connectorsystem as defined in claim 2 wherein said horizontal support plate ofsaid support bracket has a plurality of horizontally spaced slotsextending horizontally parallel to said vertical triangular plate, andsaid slots receive bolts for adjustably connecting said horizontal plateto said end portion of said structural support member.
 5. A connectorsystem as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said opposing verticalfront wall portions of said receiver is generally triangular inconfiguration.
 6. A connector system as defined in claim 1 wherein saidreceiver comprises a horizontal bottom wall rigidly connected to saidopposing front wall portions and positioned to support said verticaltriangular plate of said support bracket in said locked position.
 7. Aconnector system for securing an end portion of a steel structuralsupport member to a vertical cast concrete wall member, said connectorsystem comprising a metal receiver embedded in said concrete wall memberand connected to at least one anchor member embedded in said wallmember, said receiver including opposing vertical front wall portionspositioned substantially flush with a vertical surface of said concretewall member, said opposing vertical front wall portions defining agenerally triangular V-shape opening between said front wall portions, ametal support bracket including a vertical generally triangular platerigidly connected to a horizontal support plate rigidly connected tosaid end portion of said structural support member, said verticaltriangular plate being smaller than said V-shape opening and adapted tobe inserted through said opening into a cavity in back of said frontwall portions, said generally triangular V-shape opening and said cavityproviding for shifting said vertical triangular plate of said supportbracket downwardly within said cavity after said vertical triangularplate is inserted into said cavity, said opposing vertical front wallportions of said receiver overlap and block opposite edge portions ofsaid vertical triangular plate of said support bracket in a lockedposition after said vertical triangular plate is shifted downwardlywithin said cavity, and said horizontal support plate of said supportbracket has horizontally spaced recesses adjacent said verticaltriangular plate, and said recesses receive said vertical front wallportions of said receiver when said support bracket shifts downwardlywithin said cavity to said locked position.
 8. A connector system asdefined in claim 7 wherein said horizontal support plate of said supportbracket is welded to an upper portion of said vertical triangular plateof said support bracket, and a vertical metal reinforcing gusset plateis welded to a bottom surface of said horizontal support plate and tosaid vertical triangular plate.
 9. A connector system as defined inclaim 7 wherein said horizontal support plate of said support brackethas a plurality of horizontally spaced slots extending horizontallyparallel to said vertical triangular plate, and said slots receive boltsadjustably connecting said horizontal support plate to said end portionof said structural support member.
 10. A connector system as defined inclaim 7 wherein said receiver comprises a horizontal bottom wall rigidlyconnected to said opposing front wall portions and positioned to supportsaid vertical triangular plate of said support bracket in said lockedposition.